A Permanent Reassurance
by Amelia Letter
Summary: "The only way she's leaving that treehouse is if Fred apologizes." "Well that's obviously not happening." Fred and Roxanne are your typical siblings, and just like any typical siblings, they tend to have a lot of spats. It's nothing new, until Roxanne isolates herself to the treehouse for the whole day and Fred feels a new emotion. Written for the Childhood Memories Comp. on HPFC.


**A/N: Hello! Back with a short one-shot... this time for the Childhood Memories Challenge on HPFC :) I'm not doing this to slack off of my multi-chapter, no worries :3 Hope you like it!**

* * *

Roxanne was fairly sure that the least anyone could do was simply leave her alone. But that obviously wasn't going to happen.

The five year-old girl climbed her way up the steps nailed into the tree in her backyard and into the small treehouse. She crawled to a far corner of the small construction and hugged her knees to her chest, burying herself as far away from everyone else as she could. _Stupid Fred sticking his nose into everything..._, Roxanne thought to herself angrily.

Her seven year-old brother had decided to have some fun at Roxanne's expense. Fred had stolen her favourite doll and plush toy and pretty much massacred them. It wasn't funny in the slightest. So obviously, Roxanne broke down in tears and ran for the treehouse her dad had built for them just recently. Maybe people would leave her alone in there.

So that was how the young girl found herself stuffing herself into the corner of a treehouse with her cheeks covered in tears. Fred had a knack for having fun at his younger sister's expense and that was pretty much the end for Roxanne. She wouldn't put up with it any longer, even if she had to ignore Fred forever.

Roxanne heard someone on the steps of the treehouse and quickly buried her face in her arms. _Please go away_, she thought to herself. She heard the person climb into the treehouse and sit next to her.

After about five minutes of Roxanne sitting completely still, she lifted her head slightly only to see her dad, none other than the famous George Weasley, sitting next to her. She noticed his eyes shift towards her and she quickly buried her face back into her arms. Roxanne heard her father chuckle lightly.

"Dad, this isn't funny!" she exclaimed suddenly, completely lifting her head. "This is serious. Fred has a problem!"

Her dad laughed. "Oh come on, Roxanne," he said. "You know we can fix two toys without a problem."

"Yeah, but why does Fred have to even make you go through the trouble of that?" Roxanne grumbled. "And it's my stuff! It's still rude!"

George smiled at her. "Let me let you in on a little secret, Roxanne," he said quietly. "Boys like destructing things and annoying their younger siblings, especially little sisters. It's nothing to do with you, that's just how he is."

Roxanne paused before replying. "That's stupid," she said quietly.

George laughed. "Boys can be stupid," he told her.

"No kidding," Roxanne scoffed.

"All right," George said with a sigh. "Let's go down and get a snack then."

"I'm not coming down," Roxanne stated stubbornly.

Saying George was confused would've been an understatement.

"But... I thought you understood this now," George said.

"I do," Roxanne confirmed. "I also understand that Fred owes me an apology."

"Aren't you hungry?" George asked after an awkward pause.

"Nope," Roxanne replied icily.

* * *

"I don't get it," George whispered to Angelina. "What are we supposed to do now? She seemed to be pretty much okay with the whole explanation of boys being destructive."

"Let her fume it out," Angelina replied with a shrug. "I think we both know Fred isn't going to apologize."

"Yeah," George sighed. It would've been nice if Fred could go up there and willingly apologize, but the young boy seemed to be under the impression that apologizing to little sisters was a huge blow to his dignity. George and Angelina supposed it was a phase. "And she can't stay up there forever."

Angelina smiled. "She'll be down in time for dinner and back to her old self."

* * *

"Fred, can you put these plates on the table?"Angelina asked her son.

"Fine," Fred grumbled in reply, begrudgingly setting the plates in their right places.

"And Roxanne, could you put the cutlery?" Angelina called from the kitchen.

No reply came.

With a frown, Angelina looked into the dining room. "Roxanne?" she called again.

No reply and no Roxanne in sight.

Angelina walked into the dining room and up to her husband. "George, do you know where Roxanne is?" she asked him.

George sighed and shook his head lightly. "I could take a good guess," he replied.

George walked outside into the backyard and called out, "Roxanne, come down for dinner!"

A reply quickly came. "Not hungry!" Roxanne shouted back.

"She's too stubborn for her own good," George muttered as Angelina walked up to him.

"Well, you have yourself to blame for that," Angelina replied.

George sighed. "The only way she's coming down is if Fred apologizes," he noted.

"Well, that's obviously not happening," Angelina said.

* * *

By the end of the day, Fred was feeling something he had never felt before. It was a mixture of fear, regret, and good meaning. Form what he could guess, he was feeling guilt. It was definitely new.

Then again, Fred Weasley knew that he should have felt guilt before. This wasn't the first time he terrorized his sister. It was, however, the first time Roxanne isolated herself from everyone and everything, at least as far as Fred knew. With a sigh, he followed after his parents outside in the backyard.

"The only way she's coming down is if Fred apologizes," Fred heard his father say.

"Well, that's obviously not happening," his mother said in reply.

It was true, Fred did not apologize for a successful prank. Ever. It was very backwards, in his opinion. There was no need to apologize for something done on purpose, especially when that thing was executed so beautifully. But, this was his younger sister. And that was where the guilt came in. Maybe, Fred thought, ripping the head off of her doll today was one too many times.

Fred sighed. Despite the fact that it was against everything he believed in (and the fact that James would make fun of him for forever if he found out), Fred knew that the right thing to do was to go apologize to Roxanne. She had kept herself buried in the treehouse simply because of him; it was the least Fred could do.

So small, seven year-old Fred walked past his parents and climbed up the steps nailed to the large tree in their backyard. He quickly spotted his five year-old sister huddled into a corner with her knees hugged to her chest. Fred crawled over to her and sat next to her. For a moment, there was only silence between the two siblings.

"I'm sorry, Roxanne," Fred muttered. "I didn't know this hurt you so badly."

Roxanne stayed silent.

Fred frowned and looked over at his younger sister. "Roxanne, are you okay?" he asked.

Roxanne nodded and then she did something that shocked Fred.

She flailed her arms up and hugged him.

Cautiously, Fred hugged her back. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

Roxanne pulled away with a smile and nodded emphatically. "Yup," she replied happily. "Thanks Fred. Let's go eat."

Roxanne got up and exited the treehouse, Fred following after her. The two siblings ran back into the house, their shocked parents slowly following after them. The family ate dinner just as usual; laughter and stories going around, as if nothing had happened. And neither one of them ever brought up the incident. Not then, at the dinner table, or any time in the future.

But Roxanne knew one thing. It was definitely an event she would remember for the rest of her life. Small, clever Roxanne Weasley. She knew now that if Fred ever angered or pranked her again, there was always the memory of the day she isolated herself to a treehouse.

The day Fred apologized for something to his own younger sister, simply so she would go back into the house and eat. The day Fred Weasley felt guilt. From that day on, Roxanne would always know that her brother truly had a heart.

And boy, was that a useful memory throughout their childhood.

* * *

**Erm, a litte short and not as good as I would've liked... but it is what it is :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Did Fred and Roxanne seem in-character (or as in-character as they can be)?  
-Overall opinion?**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


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